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The Mercedes-Benz Concept GLB unveiled on Tuesday at Auto Shanghai 2019 will spawn a production variant as early as this summer. The GLB is based on the same MFA2 (Mercedes Front-drive Architecture) as the recently launched A-Class and will come with turbo-4 engines, a dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive. The EQB will feature a specific battery-electric version of the MFA2 platform and likely unique design treatments to highlight its membership in Mercedes parent company Daimler's EQ brand for electric cars. The first model to use the new platform, internally called MEA2 (Mercedes Electric Architecture), will be the EQS due around 2021 and positioned as a flagship electric sedan.

The new Q3 was unveiled last October at the 2018 Paris International Motor Show and on Wednesday was shown in the United States for the first time, at the 2019 New York International Auto Show. It is mated to an 8-speed automatic and all-wheel-drive system as standard, with the latter available with a hill descent feature that maintains a preset speed on steep downhill gradients. Resembling the design found in Audi's upper end models, the dash is divided into two levels, with the top part integrating the air vents and a digital instrument cluster (10.25 inches standard and 12.3 inches available) and the bottom part integrating a large octagonal area containing an infotainment screen (8.8 inches standard and 10.1 inches available) and black-panel surround. These include adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, front collision warning with cyclist and pedestrian detection, park assist with automated steering, and a surround-view camera capable of providing a detailed view of the wheels so you don't scuff them when curbside parking.

The covers came off the third-generation model on Wednesday at the 2019 New York International Auto Show, where Mercedes confirmed the handsome brute will land in showrooms in late 2019 as a 2020 model. The dash layout has been borrowed from the smaller GLE, and like in other recent launches from Mercedes there is the MBUX infotainment system that includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, natural-speak voice activation, and a new gesture control system. In the GLS450, a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-6 with 362 hp and 369 lb-ft will work with the mild-hybrid system and in the GLS580 there will be a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 with 483 hp and 516 lb-ft. With performance covered, Mercedes looked to provide a comfortable ride by making its electronically controlled suspension system, dubbed E-Active Body Control, available on the new GLS.

We might also see the controls for the climate settings switch from physical knobs to a touchscreen interface like in the latest A6, though physical controls could remain if Audi goes with a design similar to the one used in the A1. Power in the current S5 comes from a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 good for 354 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, with the engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive as standard. The mild-hybrid system has been added to the latest S6 and S7 where it is also used to power an electric compressor that helps build boost pressure before the engine builds up revs and turbocharging takes over. The current A5 range was introduced for 2018 so we will likely see the updated one introduced for 2021.